Ok I have a double wide mobile home with a really bad roof. The shingles are shot, the osb underneath is rotting from the exposure of water, and the insulation is starting to mold. I posted about one of the leaks
here. Unfortunately this is only one of the many leaks. It rained the entire weekend and several of the leaks expanded and the ceiling started to fall out in more than one area of the house. I need this roof to stay alive another three months till i get the money for a new roof!! Is there anything i can do besides replace the whole roof?
I think many of the leaks, which are at the very edges of the house, are coming from the crest of the roof. The reason i think this is because i put rolled roofing over the top of one the leaky spots in the roof and it didn't change the leak AT ALL. Even if it was a poor repair on my part it should have at least slowed the leak a little. Also the ceiling sags for several feet before the actual leak in the ceiling (I put the rolled roofing over the sag as well). So i think the water is getting in at the crest and running down to a point where the osb is rotten. This make sense to me because the rolled roofing was placed over the shingles and not the deck itself. So the water would still run under the shingles and the rolled roofing both if it came from a point higher up on the roof.
Does my theory make any sense first of all? If that makes any sense how can i stop the leak coming from the crest? Also, If i'm off base on this one what do you guys think could be going on?
Best Answer
Purchase a roll of reinforced (fiber-embedded) polyethylene sheeting of a size adequate to cover your entire roof. Also purchase enough 2x4 lumber to ring the entire roof, minus 10% or so. Procure a hammer or squeeze stapler and staples, 3" construction screws, and a good cordless drill and bit.
Roll the tarp out over the roof. Trim it so that the tarp extends past the roof about 18" on all sides. Staple the lumber to the edge of the tarp, then roll it in the tarp until the lumber is inside the edge of the roof. Screw through the tarp and lumber into framing below.
Do this all the way around, leaving gaps of 6-10" between each board. Now cut drain holes in the gaps between the lumber along the eaves (as opposed to the "rakes", or the sloped roof edges).
If you have penetrations (plumbing and furnace vents, for example), you'll need to find a way to waterproof them as well. You may be able to sandwich an open cap down on them to pinch the tarp, sealing it to the vent opening.
Finally, lay sand bags or other stable, heavy materials on the tarp as needed to prevent billowing in the wind, which will eventually tear the tarp.